Like A Big Brother
by ArtemisHarryAnimorphsfan96
Summary: What happens when the Animorphs go to yet another school dance and Rachel and Tobias sneak off together into a janitor's closet? Featuring an over-protective Jake. Could have happened sometime sometime after book #43. Warning: Jake's a little OOC.
1. Tobias' POV

Like Big Brother

**A/N: Okay, this is my first Animorphs fanfiction. It is a little side story that could have happened about Rachel and Tobias during yet another school dance. It would have taken place sometime really close to #54. I have written a second chapter in Rachel's POV, but I'll only post it if I get at least five reviews. I think that's fair. I don't own any of the characters. I only own the idea of this one story. Everything else belongs to K. A. Applegate, yada yada. Anyways, on with the story!**

My name is Tobias. And I was on a date.

Rachel had talked me into going to yet another school dance. After what had happened at the other school dances, I wasn't too thrilled about going to another. But there's just something about Rachel that makes me bend to her every will. Every time I look into those beautiful blue eyes, I can't help but lose myself in them.

So, anyways, there I was, in a crowded room full of teenagers. Rachel and I had danced a while, but now we were at the snacks table getting some punch.

"Tobias, why don't we go out into the hall to escape this noise?" Rachel suggested.

"Sure." We sneaked past the chaperones, splitting up and telling them that we were going to the bathroom. We met up at the janitor's closet that contained the first entrance we had found to the yeerk pool. Of course, by now, it had been sealed off.

"So, Tobias, I wanted to ask you something." Rachel said, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Okay-" I began, but was cut off when we heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. With one look at eachother, we both had the same thought. We both quickly but quietly slipped into the closet, which was surprisingly unlocked.

We waited for a couple of minutes, listening with pounding hearts, ready for a fight, as the footsteps became louder. Finally, they passed. We stayed in there, silent, for a few minutes more, making sure that nobody else was coming.

"We might as well stay in here," Rachel said. "We could use a little privacy."

"So, what did you want to ask me?" I asked, my heart pounding a little. It was a little cozy in this small closet, and we couldn't help but let our bodies touch.

"Well... you know how... I just feel that... do you... do you have feelings for me?" Rachel finally succeeded in asking her question. She was looking me straight in the eyes. I just stared into hers, getting lost in them, once again. I saw nervousness. I saw confidence. I saw... I saw love.

"Yes." I said quietly.

"What are they?"

"They're... they're what I see in you eyes. Pure love." I was surprised by what I had said, but what surprised me more was the truth in those words.

"Tobias... really?"

"Really." My heart pounding even harder, I leaned forward. Seeing this, Rachel met me halfway. Our lips touched. Briefly, at first, but then, more and more passionately. It soon became a hunger that needed to be satisfied, similar to the hunger of a taxxon.

I wrapped my left arm around her waist, and brought my right arm up to her head. My hand sifted through her gorgeous, silky, blond hair. She wrapped her arms around my neck, deepening the kiss even more.

We did this for a few more heavenly minutes. It was even better than flying on a warm summer day on a nice thermal.

Just as we were getting a little frisky, the closet door flew open.

"What are you two doing?!" A frazzled Jake cried out vehemently.

We both jumped, still holding onto eachother.

"I've been looking for you guys for the past half hour! Tobias! You only have five minutes left until you're stuck in human morph!" Jake yelled at me.

That raised an alarm in my head. Half an hour. Had it really been that long? It had felt like only a couple of minutes. If I didn't demorph in the next five minutes, I would lose my ability to morph forever, and I would be no help in this horrible war against the Yeerks. I could no longer fight in the war that my father had given us the power to fight in.

However, that didn't sound too bad right now. All I wanted in the world right now was to be with Rachel, with her in my human arms. But since Jake had ruined the moment- I mean, the half hour, and he was right here, I knew that I needed to demorph.

"I've been looking for you guys since you snuck out." Jake continued. "What were you guys thinking?! You can't just sneak off every moment we aren't in a battle! Just think about what could have happened! Ax could have gotten the _yamphut_ again! Chapman could have gotten suspicious! Something... something could have happened between you two!" When he said the last part, his cheeks flushed and he got a worried look on his face.

Rachel and I just stood there, a little shocked. Had he seriously just said that?!

"Oh no you didn't." Rachel looked like she wanted to kill him. I put my hand on her shoulder, calming her down.

"Jake. You know that we would never do that. Rachel is just barely sixteen. I would never...." I trailed off, looking at Rachel. "I love her too much."

Jake stood there, a blank look on his face. "You'd better demorph. You probably only have a minute left."

I looked at him. I kissed Rachel one last time. "I love you." I whispered. I walked outside and started to demorph. Rachel and Jake stood watch. Finally, I was a red-tailed hawk once more. As I jumped into the air and flapped hard, I looked back. Rachel was trying to be stone-faced, but I could see the tears in her eyes.

I couldn't blame Jake. Rachel was his cousin. He didn't have any sisters. She didn't have any brothers. Even though they weren't _that_ close, and even though Rachel was tough and could defend herself easily, Jake still felt the need to protecet her. Like a big brother.

I flew back to my meadow. I landed in my tree. I morphed back to human. I could still feel her. Her body, her hair, her lips. I cried. I cried like I'd never cried before.


	2. Rachel's POV

Rachel's POV

**A/N: I'm sorry, but I just couldn't wait. I've checked my review count almost every day. I wrote this a while ago, and yesterday I made the last changes. It's been over a month, and I just couldn't help myself but post it now. Enjoy!**

My name is Rachel. And I'm in love with a bird.

Long story short, he has the body of a bird and the brain of a human boy. He was originally just a human boy, picked on and bullied. But then he got trapped in a bird's body after he stayed in morph for too long. A red-tailed hawk, to be exact. It's really toughened him out.

His name is Tobias. And we were at the school dance. Again. Despite the other horrible times we had had at school dances. He had morphed back into his human body over an hour ago. I knew that if I could only distract him a while longer, I might actually succeed in making him become a _nohilt _once again, but in his own body.

However, I knew that that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to fight the Yeerks. He wanted to help save the world. But the war was so close to being over. Maybe him losing his morphing powers right now wouldn't matter. The other Animorphs and I could finish this war without him, and he'd stay safe....

Anyways, there'd been something I wanted to ask him. I'd been trying to get up the courage all night. A huge army of Taxxons and Hork Bajiar, I could handle. Visser Three, sure. But asking Tobias this one question? I was terrified.

We had danced for a while, but now we were getting some punch at the snacks table.

"Tobias, why don't we go out into the hall to escape this noise?" I asked before I could stop myself, before I could lose my nerve.

"Sure." Tobias answered. We split up, told the chaperones that we were going to use the bathroom, and met up at the janitor's closet where we had first gone down to the Yeerk Pool on our first mission. Where we had almost saved Tom. Where Tobias had become trapped in a bird's body.

"So, Tobias, I wanted to ask you something." I could feel myself blush. I mentally cursed myself.

"Okay-" Tobias started to say, but he was interrupted as footsteps echoed down the adjacent hallway. We looked at each other and it was like we could read each other's minds. _Into the closet._ Tobias turned the doorknob, and surprisingly, it wasn't locked. He closed it silently as we hid inside.

As the footsteps came nearer, we tensed up. We were ready for anything that might come into that closet. When the footsteps became quieter, we both mentally sighed in relief. We stood there for a few minutes more, just to make sure that nothing else would come.

"We might as well stay in here." I told Tobias. "We could use a little privacy." Oh boy, could we.

"So, what did you want to ask me?" Tobias asked. He sounded a little nervous. Maybe he could sense the Yeerk Pool beneath us. Maybe he knew what I was going to ask. Maybe it was the fact that the closet was so small that we could hardly breath without our bodies touching.

"Well... you know how... I just feel that... do you... do you have feelings for me?" I stuttered. You know the expression, 'butterflies in my stomach'? Well, it was more like I had a _bird_ in my stomach. A red-tailed hawk, to be exact. I looked him straight in the eyes. He stared into mine for a minute before answering.

"Yes." He whispered.

"What are they?" I asked, and that red-tailed hawk in my stomach ruffled his feathers.

"They're... they're what I see in your eyes." He replied. "Pure love." His answer shocked me. Did he really mean that?

"Tobias... really?"

"Really." He leaned forward. I knew exactly what he was going to do. I met him halfway. It was just a small, quick kiss at first. But then it became more intense. It was something that we could hardly control, but didn't want to stop.

As he wrapped one arm around my waist and ran his other hand through my hair, I threw my arms around his neck. It felt so good. Usually, I'm the one that has to protect everyone else, physically and phycologically. But next to Tobias, holding onto his slightly larger frame,_ I _felt protected. It was a new feeling, and I liked it.

I wished that it could last forever. I didn't want it to end. But all too quickly, we were interrupted when the door was thrown open.

"What are you two doing?!" Came an angry, startled, shocked voice. Jake.

As Tobias and I jumped, his left arm stayed hooked around my waist and my right arm rested on his shoulder.

"I've been looking for you guys for the past half hour! Tobias! You only have five minutes left until you're stuck in human morph!" Jake seemed bewildered.

Wait. Half an hour? Five minutes? I had almost succeded... if it weren't for Jake. If he hadn't interrupted us, Tobias would have forgotten all about demorphing. He would have become trapped in his human body, like I had wanted. But I knew that Tobias would have to demorph now.

"I've been looking for you guys since you snuck out." Jake continued. "What were you guys thinking?! You can't just sneak off every moment we aren't in a battle! Just think about what could have happened! Ax could have gotten the _yamphut_ again! Chapman could have gotten suspicious! Something... something could have happened between you two!" At the last part, all of the blood drained out of his face and he looked like he had seen a ghost.

Tobias and I just stood there like we'd been slapped. _No way_ he had said that! Was that really what he thought about us?

"Oh no you didn't." I started my rampage, but Tobias put his hand on my shoulder. I became quiet.

"Jake. You know that we would never do that. Rachel is just barely sixteen. I would never...." He trailed off and looked at me. "I love her too much." My heart swelled at this, but then Jake ruined it.

He stood there for a moment. His face showed no emotion. "You'd better demorph. You probably only have about two minutes left."

Tobias looked at Jake, then kissed me. A slow, brief kiss. "I love you." He whispered. He walked outside. As Jake and I stood watch, I prayed that it had been past two hours, that it was too late. When I saw feathers etch themselves across his skin, I could hardly hold in my sob. I watched as he flew away.

My sob turning into anger, I turned to Jake.

"Why did you do that?!" I cried. "Why did you say that?! You know that we'd never do anything like that!"

"You're my cousin. I have to protect you. Like a big brother." His voice was hollow.

"_Protect me?!_ I don't need anyone to protect me! And you are no cousin of mine!" I yelled. I ran far, far away. When I was far enough away, I morphed to bald eagle. I flew to my house. I demorphed. In the solitude of my room, I muffled my crying and screaming with my pillow.


	3. Jake's POV

**A/N: Hey, thanks for all of your guys' support! I hope that you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writting this! Well, here's the last chapter of this trilogy, in Jake's POV! R and R!**

My name is Jake. And I care about my cousin.

Just looking at us, you might think that we just barely tolerate each other lately. That's because of this war with the Yeerks. She and I have opposing opinions. She wants a full out bloody war, while I want to keep it a secret as long as possible. If we switch our guerrilla hit-and-run attacks to a full out war, out in the open, with the entire planet fighting, I know we'll lose. The only reason the yeerks haven't done that yet is because keeping everything a secret and getting unsuspecting, vouluntary hosts is still working for them. If we go into interstellar war, the yeerks will simply kill whoever they don't need and destroy whatever land they don't need.

Anyways, with our opposing views, you might think that we can hardly stand each other. However, I really do care and worry about her. It's almost as if she's my sister.

Which is why I noticed when she and Tobias snuck out of the gym during the school dance.

The whole group had gone to the dance. Tobias had been in human morph for a little over an hour. He and Rachel had danced for a while, but were now over at the snacks table. I was sitting at a table with Cassie. Marco was with Ax, trying to flirt with some of the girls on the other side of the room.

I, of course, was looking out for any human controllers, including Chapman. I had warned everyone to be on alert, just in case anything happened. Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw someone leave the room. At first, I thought it was just a regular teenager going to the bathroom or something. But then I noticed that Tobias was no longer in the room. I looked more carefully, and soon saw Rachel. She was also leaving the gym!

My first thought was that they had seen something suspicious out in the hallway and had decided to check it out by themselves. I looked at Cassie. She had seen it, too.

"Where do you think they went?" I asked.

"I don't know." Cassie said.

"I'll go check out what's up," I said.

I left the gym, telling the chaperones that I had to use bathroom. I started looking around the school. I couldn't find anything particularly suspicious. I must have looked for thirty minutes! A lot of thoughts went through my head as to what could have happened. I didn't like any of them. Finally, as I was passing a janitor's closet - the janitor's closet - I heard some noises.

I flung the door open, and there they were. Rachel's arms were around Tobias' neck and Tobias had one arm around Rachel's waist and the other hand was going through her hair. They were kissing like I had never seen two people kiss before!

"What are you two doing?!" I cried in shock. They broke apart to look at me in surprise.

"I've been looking for you guys for the past half hour! Tobias! You only have five minutes left until you're stuck in human morph!" I had no idea how much time he had left, but saying five minutes seemed to have gotten the message across.

"I've been looking for you guys since you snuck out." I continued. "What were you guys thinking?! You can't just sneak off every moment we aren't in a battle! Just think about what could have happened! Ax could have gotten the _yamphut_ again! Chapman could have gotten suspicious! Something... something could have happened between you two!" I had said the last part before I could stop myself, and as soon as I said it, I knew that I had made a mistake.

Rachel and Tobias looked at me, shocked.

"Oh no you didn't." Rachel growled. Tobias put his hand on her shoulder and spoke.

"Jake. You know that we would never do that. Rachel is just barely sixteen. I would never...." He trailed off, looking at Rachel. "I love her too much." I knew that this was true, but my anger had swallowed me.

For a second I couldn't say anything, Then I said, "You'd better demorph. You probably only have a minute left."

He looked at me, kissed Rachel, and whispered in her ear, "I love you." He walked outside and started to demorph. Rachel and I stood guard, making sure that nobody else was watching. Finally, a red-tailed hawk stood in the field, and flew away.

"Why did you do that?!" Rachel yelled at me when Tobias was gone. "Why did you say that?! You know that we'd never do anything like that!"

"You're my cousin. I have to protect you. Like a big brother." The words came out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying.

"_Protect me?!_ I don't need anyone to protect me! And you are no cousin of mine!" The words hurt. She ran away from me, and when she was quite a ways away, she morphed into a bald eagle and flew off, too.

I walked back into the gym. There was hardly anyone left. Cassie, Marco, and Ax came up to me.

"What happened?" Cassie asked, knowing something was wrong.

"Nothing." I said, starting to walk away.

"But why did-" Ax started to ask, but I cut him off.

"Nothing, okay?! Just leave it alone!" I stormed out of the room and walked home by myself. I had no idea of what had come over me that night. I just knew that I had made a mistake, and that Rachel might never forgive me.


End file.
